Alarming or Assuring

[mickstinator]

I was reading reviews of a pest control company in my area. Most of them are very positive, but then I found an awkward little exchange on one particular site, which I am reposting below:

Foul Mouthed, Disrespectful Owner

Jessica D.  

The owner was kind enough to donate his services for our school's silent auction. When we called to find out the value he misunderstood the information he was given. When I called back (as the chairperson) to clarify with him, thank him for his donation, and let him know it has been sold I was called an "f-ing b****" and cursed at me numerous times with the "f-word" being used between every word he spoke. On top of that he is now refusing to honor the donation that was purchased. I think it is absolutely ridiculous that the owner of a business would act this way. He told me to never call his number again, and you can rest assured knowing that not only I will I never call, but I will make sure that everyone I know is aware of my experience and doesn't call either. I would venture to guess that review below is probably spot on with his experience with this man. What are the odds that two pest control companies in the Flower Mound area would have someone who returns their call and curses at people?!?

Response from this business:

Here’s the worst of the internet…when a business owner is forced to defend themselves publically against defamatory statements because readers are not privy to the entire situation. I own up the situation that occurred (as opposed to the other review which really did not happen.) However, in fairness to my business, you should know the other side of the story; especially since these days online judgment of others appears to be the norm. What Jessica fails to mention is that she started this fight. I was doing what I thought was the right thing by donating my services for auction to a local organization. I submitted the materials asked of me. A few weeks later, I received no less than 5 phone calls in succession as I was trying to provide a consultation to a customer. When I finally was able to answer the call, instead of being treated with respect as a donor, I was chastised, made to listen to derogatory comments about my chosen profession and received an overall “better-than-you” attitude. I wasn’t pleased but contained myself and answered the callers questions respectfully. However, Jessica took it upon herself (she wasn’t part of the original conversation) to call me to supposedly apologize. However, when she began to harass me I could take no more and lost my temper. I refuse to be bullied by a PTA mom with nothing better to do. I own a small service business but that does not mean I should be treated like scum and forced to grovel for respect. (You’d be surprised at how often I get this attitude.) I apologize for the language but I would also expect more professional treatment from a group running a charity. I treat my customers with respect and have plenty of good reviews to prove it. http://www.robertsonpest.com/testimonials.html As an aside the PTA for this school was appalled to hear how I was treated and the review Jessica posted. She was required to remove it from Google but apparently did not remove from this site.

Personally, I found it pretty hilarious, especially considering the fact that it's the only review I've found less than 4 out of 5 stars. What would you think if you saw this?

[deccaf]

I would take into account the overall ratings of the company.  Knowing how one bad review can taint the whole outlook of a potential customer, I would have done the same as he did and respond to the review.  If 99% are positive, I would likely continue to do business with the company.

[cjsmom1]

Wow

[rissarin]

Haha. That made me giggle. I applaud him.

[4healthyeats]

As a general rule i throw out the best and worst review of anything.

[leahbeah143]

Good for him for coming back and telling his side! I think that makes her look like an asshole lol

[Loveplusmama]

Everyone has a bad day, now and then. Shoot, look at our group vents!  :-) If most reviews were positive, I'd still use them.

[trfgirl56701]

I'd probably still use them if most reviews were positive. Good for him for sticking up for himself and telling his side of the story.

[Marti123]

This whole thing makes me laugh!

I work with the public and yea, there are always a couple people that you just somehow tangle with at times. So I ignore really crazy reviews and look at the average.